A 40-person dance group from the Dance Academy of Mexico will perform as part of Holy Family Catholic Community’s Latin Flavor event Sunday, Sept. 18. (Photos courtesy of Dance Academy of Mexico)
On Sunday, Sept. 18, experience the feel, food and fun of a traditional Latin American festival at Holy Family Catholic Community’s Latin Flavor event.
While Holy Family has hosted its Taste of Mexico event in the past, Latin Flavor will expand its geographical scope to better represent the heritage of the parish’s Hispanic community — and the greater Fond du Lac area — by also including the food and touches of countries like Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
“Our Hispanic community is an integral part of not only Holy Family but also Fond du Lac as well, and we are excited for the opportunity to host this event to celebrate their heritage, just as we celebrate the heritage of our German parishioners with Oktoberfest,” Holy Family Catholic Community Pastor Fr. Ryan Pruess said. “It will be a great time, and offer people the chance to try food and hear music that they may not have previously.”
The festival will begin at 10 a.m. at Holy Family Church, 271 Fourth Street Way, with a bilingual English and Spanish Mass, before carrying out into the Prayer Garden on the church’s east side from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. When stepping into the Prayer Garden, attendees will see handmade booths representing each country, and have the chance to purchase a dish from each. The menu will feature foods like tacos; tamales; popusas/flour griddles; Coctel de elotes/corn cocktail; platillo de tostadas de tinga/shredded chicken with tomatoes, chipotle chilis and onions on a toasted tortilla; nachos; burritos; aguas frescas/fruit coolers; and chilindrinas/flour fritters with meat, vegetables and sauce. Five different drinks will be on the menu, including Horchata and sodas.
Food is just part of the fun. Latin Flavor will have multiple activities for people to participate in, including ring tossing/juego de atinale a la botella, balloon darts/juego de bombas con dardos, and a card matching game for prizes, as well as dance, jalepeño eating and joke contests. Entertainment will come in the form of the Mariachi Zamora band, the band La Distancia de Villa, a DJ and a dance group from the Dance Academy of Mexico that will perform a folkloric dance representing different parts of Mexico. With music playing all afternoon, people will have plenty of opportunities to take the dance floor themselves.
Admission is free, and food and raffle tickets will be available for purchase at reasonable prices. Parking will be available in the church’s west lot. In the event of inclement weather, it will be moved into the Holy Family Parish Hall.
